My latest canned adventure comes in the form of monkey bread, but not the sweet kind.
I find it hard to resist a savory breakfast, and this one is exactly thatirresistible.
For a Christmas breakfast made for nibbling between unwrapping presents, try this ham and cheese monkey bread.
What is monkey bread?
Monkey bread is a cute name for some pull-apart breads.
The pieces are tossed with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, and pressed into a pan.
After it bakes, the dough pieces easily pull apart from one another.
You grab a morsel with your fingers and go.
Its casual, delicious, and the sort of messy fun only finger foods can supply.
In this case, Im switching out the sweet mixture for ham, cheese, and garlic butter.
Where biscuits are concerned, homemade are better than canned.
This breakfast bake requires a fair bit of rolling and smooshing.
Preheat the oven, and butter a loaf pan generously.
Chop the ham and cheese roughly into quarter-inch pieces.
Flour a work surface.
Pop launch the can of biscuits (I used a can of eight biscuits).
Peel the dough apart into two rounds.
Repeat this for all of the biscuits.
Slightly shingle all of the biscuits into a rectangle-like shape.
Its not perfect, and the beauty of it is that none of it has to be.
Sprinkle the dough evenly with the chopped ham and cheese.
you might press the chunks into the dough to get them to sit firmly, especially around the edges.
Starting with the long edge closest to you, begin to tightly roll the dough into a swirl.
Some meat and cheese bits might fall out, just press them onto the dough anywhere.
after you grab a log, squeeze it to check that all of the ingredients stick to the dough.
Then use a knife to chop across the swirl in half-inch slices.
Squeeze each segment in your fist to make a nugget.
It doesnt have to be a ball, but itcanbe a ball.
Toss these into a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle the dough balls with butter and sprinkle salt and garlic powder into the bowl.
I also added some dried parsley but this is really just for interest.
Toss everything together with a rubber spatula.
One or two of my dough bundles unraveled, and this is totally fine.
Just dont be too rough with them.
you’re free to also use a toothpick to look to see if it comes out dry.
I kept returning to this loaf of savory biscuit bread for just one more.
Just sprinkle them in with the ham and cheese.
For a large crowd, double or triple this recipe and use a bundt pan.
Keep in mind that a bigger monkey bread will need more time to bake.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Generously butter a loaf pan (I used an eight- by four-inch loaf pan).
Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside.
Flour a work surface, and bring up the can of biscuit dough.
Peel each of the eight biscuits in half and slightly shingle them into a rectangular shape.
Press the dough to flatten it and close up any gaps between the biscuits.
Sprinkle the chopped ham and cheese over the entire surface and press the pieces into the dough.
Roll the dough into a spiral, starting at the long end closest to you.
Squeeze the rolled dough tube tightly to secure all the pieces inside.
Chop the dough log crosswise into quarter-inch segments.
Squeeze each segment into ball-like shapes and toss them all into a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle the butter over the dough balls and sprinkle the garlic, salt, and parsley around the bowl.
Toss gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula.
Dump the ham and cheese balls into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 30-40 min or until the loaf is well risen and browned all the way around.
Check doneness by pressing the center.
It should feel firm.
Alternatively, use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Cool the loaf briefly before serving.
